Goodbye
by gothina234
Summary: One shot following the ending of Zugzwang. Reid takes Maeve's death harder than the team thought and is unable to face the world. In an almost catatonic state, his minds helps him to wake up to a world without Maeve but to a world where his family is ready to help him.


**Hey everyone, here is a little one shot for you all. I watched zugzwang again last night as it was showing where I live and I had this idea pop into my head. I hope you like it and would love to know what you think. Please review  
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**All mistakes are my own**

Morgan stood frozen as he watched his friend cry over the body of Maeve. None of them moved, all they heard was Reid's sobs filling the air. After a few minutes, Hotch stepped forward after seeing Reid had stopped crying, he became worried as he leaned down to see the youngest member of his team completely still. He was just staring into space. Hotch put his hands around Reid and brought the young man to his feet.

"Reid, I'm so sorry," Hotch said. Reid didn't answer, he just stared into the distance. He was practically catatonic. "Reid? Talk to me, please."

Hotch caught him as he fell forward and into unconscious oblivion. "Get an EMT in here. Now!"

Lowering him to the floor, Hotch checked him over and found the gunshot wound in his arm. There wasn't enough blood loss for Reid to faint meaning that the toll of looking for Maeve and witnessing her death has caused him to faint. Hotch got pushed aside as the EMT came in and began to check Reid over. They brought Reid onto a board and rushed him out of the warehouse. Hotch looked to Maeve's body but had to look away. This wasn't fair. Reid dedicated his life to saving people and had sacrificed his own happiness many times before to protect people. The one time that true happiness had been in reach for him, it got ripped away from him in the most brutal way.

**Hospital - A few hours later**

Morgan stayed by his friend's side, he wasn't leaving Reid till he was either dragged away or ordered away by the world ending. His friend needed him now more than ever and he wasn't about to let his friend go through this alone. He had promised Reid that they would find Maeve alive, he had promised his friend the chance to tell the woman he had loved those three special words. Words that would now never be spoken. Morgan looked to the bed and got surprised to see Reid's eyes open. He didn't like the way that Reid stared into the distance, a dead expression on his face.

"Reid, it's okay. You are in the hospital. They patched up your arm but you have to stay overnight," Morgan began to explain. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry about what happened. I want you to know that I will be here for you and so will everyone else. Please say something."

Reid didn't respond though, he simply continued staring into the distance. Morgan pressed the call button for the nurse. A small young nurse came into the room followed by Reid's doctor.

"Doctor, he isn't responding to anything. He just stares into the distance. What's wrong with him?"

"Dr Reid, can you follow the light?" the doctor asked as he brought a small light and shined it into Reid's eyes. Reid didn't follow the light causing the doctor to have a look of concern on his voice. He brought the light away from Reid's eyes and clicked his fingers in front of him. "Dr Reid?"

"What's wrong with him?" Morgan demanded gently. The doctor came away from the bed and ushered Morgan to the corner.

"What happened that brought him into the hospital?" the doctor demanded. "Did he suffer any traumatic trauma?"

"The woman he loved got murdered in front of him. He tried to save her but he wasn't able to. Why isn't he responding to anything we do?"

"Right now, your friend is in a deep state of shock. He has buried himself so far down that he is practically catatonic. There is nothing we can do now except wait for him to wake up."

"Catatonic," Morgan said numbly as he looked over to Reid. "Oh, Reid."

"He just needs time to process everything that has happened to him," the doctor explained. "He will wake up but he needs time. The best thing you can do is sit with him and talk to him. The more you talk to him, the more you will help him come back to reality."

"He doesn't deserve this," Morgan said as he took a deep breath to calm himself. "He does nothing but good and the one time he'd a chance to be happy, some bitch takes it away from him."

"I'm sorry," the doctor said gently. "Please, talk to him. I think it would help you both."

Morgan nodded and watched as the nurse and doctor left. He made his way to the bed and sat on the chair had previously occupied. There was no emotion in Reid's eyes. There was nothing but a cold look in his eyes. Morgan leaned forward and put his hand over Reid's. Reid didn't even flinch.

"Reid, please come back to us. I need to apologise to you. I promised you that we would find her alive and you would be able to tell her what you felt. I'm sorry I didn't keep that promise and I'm sorry she got taken from you. You two were amazing together and she loved you just as much as you loved her. Just know, that you have an entire family around you to help you. We aren't going anywhere. The pain you are feeling won't ever go away but it will get smaller. You will be happy again, Kid. Come back to us. I'm not leaving till you do."

**The next day**

_Reid opened his eyes and found himself staring at a payphone, he didn't know why he was there but he felt the overwhelming urge to pick up the phone and dial Maeve's number. He was about to pick up the phone when he heard an all too familiar voice behind him._

_"That isn't necessary, Spencer."_

_He turned around and saw Maeve, he walked forward till he was in front of her. "Maeve?"_

_"Spencer, you need to wake up. Your friends are talking to you. You know that they are. There is nothing you can do now for me."_

_"I watched you die. What is this?"_

_"You've been through a traumatic event and your mind is trying to protect you. Your mind is extraordinary though and it knows you need to wake up now. You can't protect yourself this way. Mourn me and miss me but don't stop living your life. Do you think that is what I would have wanted?"_

_"This is a dream," he said sadly. Maeve, or what his mind represented as Maeve, nodded. "I'm here with you though. I don't want to wake up. I don't want to face the world without you. I can't."_

_"You have to wake up and you have to go back to your team. They need you. What happened to me was not your fault and you know that deep down. You knew what the most probable outcome was, so did your team, you did everything you could. Nothing you would have said to Diana would have stopped her. Spencer, you can't live your life inside your mind. You will love again. This is your chance to say goodbye to me. Take it."_

_Reid felt tears come down his cheeks. "I wanted to stay with you forever. I never got the chance to tell you properly. I love you. I love you, Maeve Donovan. I always will no matter what. I don't want to leave but I know I have to. I love you and will never forget you."_

_"You could never forget me with your mind," she smiled at him. "I love you too. I always did. Your family is waiting for you to wake up."_

_She leaned up and kissed him on the lips._

_"Why did you get taken from me?" he cried._

_"I could give you a statistic but I won't. The world isn't fair to you but it will be, one day. Goodbye, Spencer."_

_Reid looked up to speak but found himself alone, he turned around and found the payphone had disappeared as well. He had no way of contacting her because he knew he couldn't. She was gone, she was dead._

_"Goodbye, my love," he cried._

Reid opened his eyes and found himself in a hospital room. He looked to his side, he found Morgan sleeping next to him. Get well soon baskets filled the room and he knew Garcia had been there. He knew they had all been to talk to him. He had heard them talking. He knew he was crying but he knew he had every reason in the world to cry at that moment. He reached up and touched Morgan's arm. Morgan startled awake and froze when he saw Reid crying.

"Reid," he sighed happily. "Your awake."

"I'm supposed to be with her," Reid cried. "We are supposed to be together."

Morgan quickly sat on the edge of the bed and brought Reid into a hug. Reid held on tightly and cried as Morgan hugged him.

"I know, kid. I'm sorry."

Morgan sat with Reid and rocked him gently as he cried. They stayed that way for over an hour. Morgan knew that Reid was still going to need help and time and he knew that Reid would never fully recover from losing the woman he loved.

One thing he knew was that Reid had a family around him to support him, keep him safe and help him. Reid may have lost the woman he loved but the people who loved Reid were not about to lose him.**  
Please review  
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